Are You Annoyed Now?
by Kuchiki-chan
Summary: Lots of random things. Mostly Rukia finding ways to get under Ichigo's skin.
1. Striped Socks

NOTE TO READERS: Hi! Kuchiki-chan speaking. This is my second fanfic and it's a lot weirder than my first one. I actually have to think when writing that one. This story is more of an experiment. Oh, one more thing. The characters are also going to be pretty OOC. – Kuchiki-chan

DISCLAIMER: I. Don't. Own. Bleach.

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"Rukia, have you seen my striped socks?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rukia replied sweetly.

"Okay, I know you have them. Hand them over." He walked toward her.

Rukia laughed and dove for her closet. "Why you little – " He lunged at her but she dashed past him.

Ichigo felt really annoyed. "Would you please just give me my socks?"

"Mm…nah." Giggling hysterically, she ran out the door and down the stairs with Ichigo chasing her and swearing loudly. She could really piss him off sometimes. In the split second that he paused, she ran into the coat closet.

"Crap…" Now she'd disappeared. He began opening all the doors…he'd find her eventually. After all, he lived here. He had to know his own house better than her.

Finally he opened the coat closet door. "Thought you could hide, did you? Well you can't!" Cornering her so she couldn't escape, he lunged. Rukia screamed and ducked her head as his hand closed on her wrist. "Ow! Ichigo, s-stop! No, don't…don't…"

"It's too late now," he murmured. "I'm not letting go unless you give me my socks back."

She kicked him in the stomach and he winced. Man, annoying _and_ violent.

"You're cutting off the circulation in my wrist!" She kicked again.

He finally let go. "Okay, okay. Just give me my socks."

She pouted. "Fine. I don't want your stupid socks anyway." She threw them at his face and ran out of the closet.

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Ichigo walked a bit faster. When he'd woken up this morning, to his surprise Rukia was nowhere to be seen. He was hoping she'd already left for school and not ran away from home or something like that instead.

At first he was worried. Now he kept telling himself over and over that she'd just woken up early and decided to leave for school without him. After all, they had had that fight yesterday.

As he entered the classroom, he saw, to his relief, Rukia sitting on her desk with their friends crowding around her. _I wonder what they're doing_, he thought.

But as he approached them, he froze as he heard his own voice.

"Thought you could hide, did you? Well you can't!"

Rukia was screaming. "Ow! Ichigo, s-stop! No, don't…don't…"

"It's too late now!"

The sudden realization struck him like a cement mixer coming at 100 miles an hour.

She'd recorded everything. Oh yeah, and it sounded really wrong.

"AUGGHHHHH!" He ran over. "I can't believe – you – I – YOU RECORDED THE WHOLE THING?!"

She just stared back at him. So did everyone else. God, she was annoying.

"You know what? Forget it." He turned around and slumped back to his seat.

"Wait, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime's eyes were wide. "Did you really force yourself on Kuchiki-chan?"

_When we get home, she is so dead._

Ichigo whirled around. "Do you really think I would force myself on _her_?"

Judging by the way they avoided answering and looked down at their feet, he could tell they did. His shoulders sagged. "Look, I didn't, okay?"

"Um…okay." The crowd slowly broke up and everyone went back to their seats. They didn't look very convinced though.

Ichigo saw Rukia smirk as she sat down next to him. She saw him staring at her. "What? Are you planning your next attack on me?"

_Yes,_ thought Ichigo._ And I am so going to kill you._

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Rukia's gone all bad girl. Hee hee. Please R&R. Which reminds me of M&Ms. And now I want chocolate. Mmmm yummy!

But. Anyway. Back to business. So like I was saaaaying, please please review!! If you do I will go crazy with happiness. Who knows, maybe I'll even dedicate a chapter to you. (I know that doesn't count for much. But I know if someone dedicated a chapter to me, I'd be ecstatic.) – Kuchiki-chan


	2. Ichigo and Rukia, 2gether 4eva

NOTE TO READERS: Kuchiki-chan here. I'm so happy about all the reviews I got! I definitely got more for this one chapter than I did for Saving Shiro. I dunno. That's already got four chapter, and only 7 reviews, whereas this one chapter already has 5! (Okay, so the first one wasn't much of a review. But whatever.) Ah well. That's life for you.

I am dedicating this chapter to Broken Rose Twilight because you are awesome possum!! Stay cool and keep writing your stories because they ROCK like you!

DISCLAIMER: I. Don't. Own. Bleach.

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"Kurosaki-kun forced himself on the transfer student."

"Seriously?! No way!"

"I didn't think he had it in him."

Ichigo scowled. By now the whole class had heard. He began thinking of the ways to kill Rukia.

"Alright, that's enough. Settle down." The teacher looked at them sternly and started writing on the board. "I want you all to copy this down in your notebooks. Pay attention."

Everyone pulled out their notebooks and began writing madly. There was the sound of pencils scratching across paper.

The teacher's hand flew across the chalkboard at an impossible speed. There was no way he could keep up with her. As he reached the bottom of the page, Ichigo quickly flipped over to a fresh page. Or at least, he thought it was going to be a fresh page.

"WHAT THE – " Someone had doodled little hearts saying 'Ichigo + Rukia' all over it. He had a very good idea of who that someone might be. He turned very slowly in his seat to face Rukia. "You are so dead."

She ignored him and kept writing, working intently on her notes. But Ichigo could see a smile playing across her lips.

"Dammit, Rukia!" He started erasing the hearts, but then a thought struck him. Almost scared to look, he turned to the next page.

Sure enough, millions of little hearts flooded the page.

He started flipping desperately to see if she'd left a single page untouched, but she hadn't. Everywhere he looked he saw 'Ichigo + Rukia'.

She was going to pay big time for this.

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"She wrote so fast!" Orihime said. "It was almost impossible to keep up with her."

"Well, at least we didn't have to take our own notes." Keigo said optimistically.

"Kurosaki-kun, did you manage to write everything down?"

Ichigo stiffened. "Yeah."

In the end he'd had to write everything down on separate pieces of paper, now that his notebook was ruined. He'd wasted a lot of valuable time, but at least he'd completed his notes in the end.

"Oh, could I see them? Pretty please?" Orihime begged. "I think I missed a lot of it!"

"Uh…I…wrote them on pieces of paper."

"Eh?! But why? I saw you take out your notebook…did you run out of pages or something?"

"Yeah…"

"Is this it?" Rukia had pulled his notebook out of his bag. He panicked and felt his mouth go dry.

"Don't open i – "

"Oh my." The notebook fell open, revealing the millions of hearts. Keigo and Mizuiro leaned forward with interest. "What's this…'Ichigo + Rukia, 2gether 4ever'?"

Ichigo felt his mouth go dry. Rukia was really asking for it now.

"Whoa, what?!" Tatsuki and Orihime were interested now too. "I wanna see!"

"H-hey! Stop that!" Ichigo's face was red.

"Oooh you're blushing!" Tatsuki yelled.

"Shut up!"

"Getting defensive eh?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!!"

"No need to yell." Keigo started cracking up. "So…when did you write this, Ichigo? Must have taken you a lot of time."

"Forget it. I'm going home." Ichigo turned and started to walk off. He needed some time to himself to think of the most painful way to kill her. And also, of course, to get away from his idiotic so-called "friends".

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This chapter wasn't nearly as funny as the first one, at least in my opinion. Geez, second chapter only and I'm already running out of ideas. Please read and review! – Kuchiki-chan


	3. One Step Ahead

NOTE TO READERS: Helloooooo and thank you for all the lovely reviews!! I'm really surprised because this story has already gotten more hits than Saving Shiro. So anyway, yes, yes, I got some excellent suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

DISCLAIMER: All Bleachiness belongs to Tite Kubo, and Tite Kubo only. Not me.

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The next morning when Ichigo woke up, Rukia had already left, just like yesterday. No big deal. Then he suddenly remembered her schemes. This called for revenge!

But…what could he do? School was about to start, and if he wasn't quick, Rukia would probably have already cooked up something else to embarrass him by the time he did.

Looking around the room wildly, he searched desperately for anything he could somehow use to get back at her. _Come on, Ichigo…think think think! What would embarrass me if Rukia got her hands on it?_

Underwear, obviously.

Underwear was the source of 90 of the embarrassment in the world, he decided. He smirked and opened the closet door, lifting up the futons until he finally found her underwear stash. He suddenly felt like a dirty old man as he picked up a pink pair with Chappy the Rabbit on it. A voice at the back of his head told him that this wouldn't work, but he ignored it and stuffed it in his schoolbag. Then he ran downstairs, not believing his own brilliance, and ran out the door without even eating breakfast.

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Of course, at school, the new topic of interest was Ichigo.

"I wonder when he'll just come out and admit his feelings for you, Kuchiki-chan!" Orihime said, giggling.

"Ichigo would never do that. He's too stubborn." Mizuiro said. Just then, the classroom door slid open and there stood Ichigo!

_Heheh…payback time._

"Rukia, you left this here the other day," he said, taking out the panties and dropping them on his desk. A little light flashed alarmingly in the back of his head. _NOT a good idea!! There's something you're forgetting…_

The group was silent. Ichigo felt confused. Had he missed something? Why weren't they laughing at her for wearing pink Chappy the Rabbit underwear?

"Ichigo…why do you have Rukia's panties?"

Ichigo wanted to die.

"AUUGGHHH! NOOO! IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!!!" he yelled, panicking. "I…I…"

They looked at him expectantly. Finally Keigo broke the silence. "'Left them at your house'? Ichigo, what exactly were you two DOING at your house that involved her panties?!?"

_Please, ground, open up and swallow me. _

Rukia smirked as she watched Ichigo's face turn red. She had thought her plots out more carefully than he had. Obviously.

"Tough luck, amateur," she whispered in his ear as she walked past him.

"Why…you…"

"Kurosaki, what are these?" The teacher picked up the underwear.

_Dear god._

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"Okay, Rukia, that's it!" Ichigo was seething. "You asked for it!"

There was no response.

"I know you're there!" he yelled. Slowly the closet door slid open, revealing a groggy Rukia. "Ichigo…you called?"

"What were you doing sleeping?! We just got back from school!"

Rukia harrumphed. "I was sleepy."

"Does this make you sleepy?" He smirked, holding up her Chappy the Rabbit diary.

"Wha–?! Give that back!" She lunged at him, knocking the book out of his hands. "Where'd you find this?"

He shrugged. "I did some snooping around."

"You mean breaking and entering?"

"Hey, this is MY house, remember?"

They glared at each other.

"Seriously. How'd you find it?"

"I did a bit of looking. It wasn't exactly hard."

"You invaded my personal space, you jerk!"

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?" He laughed, dodging her as she kicked at him furiously.

"Oh nothing…except maybe show this to all of your friends." She grinned wickedly and pulled out a think hardcover book.

"That…that's my…"

"Journal? I thought so." She began to open it. "I didn't know you kept a diary, Ichigo."

"Give that back!"

"I thought only _girls_ kept diaries."

"Sh-shut up! And it's a journal, not a diary. Now hand it over!" He folded his arms. "You'd better not read that."

"You know what? I think I will."

Thus the war began.

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This chapter was a bit rushed, I know. Sorry. Luckily, though, it could have been worse, cuz I was going to put this up yesterday, but there was some problem so I couldn't. Today I read this over again and was like, "This SUCKS! I can't believe I was about to go update it!" So I rewrote it a bit. Just a bit.

Oh, one more thing. Can anyone think of a good title for the "war"? The Annoyance Wars sounds waaaay too corny. Ditto for the A.Y.A.N. (Are You Annoyed Now) Wars.

Please submit your ideas, which all tend to be better than my own. And review, review, review! – Kuchiki-chan


	4. A Sudden Change

A/N (which is shorter than 'NOTE TO READERS'): Wow. 1588 hits! I know that's not a lot, considering how many people go on everyday, not to mention that they don't necessarily read it, but still. O.o

DISCLAIMER: Tite Kubo owns Bleach.

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_Yesterday Ichigo stole my diary. Luckily I managed to get it back._

Rukia paused. She really wasn't sure what to write now. If Ichigo had found her diary once, he could find it again, since she really didn't have that many places to hide it. And if he found it, he'd probably read it.

Rukia smirked as an idea entered her head. She leaned back down and continued writing.

_I think I love Ichigo. The way his hair always stands up, his sense of humor _(she laughed silently as she wrote this)_, his heart-melting smile…_

Rukia felt stupid writing this. Ichigo had better fall for this, otherwise she'd have to beat him up.

She sighed and flipped the book shut, then put it in the exact same spot as before, the far left corner under the third futon. Then she rolled over and picked up something far more interesting – Ichigo's journal.

She opened it eagerly. Her eyes scanned Ichigo's writing on the first page. He hadn't written much. It seemed he'd only started writing since the day she'd taken his socks.

_I don't know how, but Rukia somehow always manages to drive me insane. Yesterday she kept jumping on my bed while I was trying to study. She was yelling about chocolate sprinkles and how yummy they were. I told her to shut up but she wouldn't listen. I failed my test today, even though I studied my butt off for it. _

Rukia felt a pang of guilt. The test had been pretty easy. If he'd failed it just because she'd kept him from concentrating…

_But today I really lost it. She stole my socks yesterday and refused to hand them over. We ended up in the closet downstairs (I know, it sounds really wrong) and I was so mad at her, I was saying all this stuff. Who knew she'd secretly recorded it?_

Rukia couldn't help but laugh. She had to admit, the expression on his face when he'd found out had been priceless.

_When I got up today, Rukia had already left for school. When I got there, she was surrounded by everyone, so I wondered what was up. SHE WAS SHOWING THEM THE RECORDING!! I almost died._

This had been obvious. Ichigo had looked like the world was coming to an end. She flipped to the next page, which was basically a run-through of the notebook incident with the underwear event following, plus a few comments about how she was infuriating.

But enough of that. Rukia slid open the closet door and carefully placed the book back under Ichigo's bed mattress, where she'd originally found it. Now all she had to do was wait for him to come back home and write more.

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Ichigo started going to Keigo's house more often, hoping he could avoid any conflicts with Rukia. Unfortunately, Keigo never wanted to study or do homework. It was all about being idiots. Ichigo's grades were slipping, and he needed to keep up. But where could he study in peace?

"Ichigo! Dude, you're blanking out again!" A hand swept in front of his face. Keigo crossed his arms and pouted. "You're no fun to hang out with. All you do is talk about schoolwork." He ran into his room and slammed the door dramatically.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. Oookay, Keigo's house had obviously been a failure. "See ya later!" He slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and walked out the door.

Where to now? He could only hope Rukia had given up humiliating him as he walked back to the Kurosaki Clinic.

"I'm back," he said as he entered his room, not expecting a reply. Suddenly Rukia leapt out of her closet.

"Ichiiiiiiigooooo!!!!" She wrapped her arms around him tightly. Due to her lack of height, her feet dangled in the air.

"What the – Rukia, what are you doing?!" he sputtered, blushing in spite of himself.

She hopped off and stuck out her lower lip. "Just welcoming back my Ichi."

"…'Ichi'?"

"Yup!"

Ichigo sighed. "Look, Rukia, I have to study now. Or else I'm going to fail anoth – the test on Monday."

Rukia did her best puppy-eyes, which weren't very good. Ichigo snorted with laughter. "You look like a – a – never mind." He bit his cheek to keep from laughing. "Okay, go away now. I have to study." Still smiling, he sat down at his desk and took out his textbooks.

"Ichi?"

"Huh?"

"Will you play with me tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure." He laughed to himself quietly as she dove back into his closet. Maybe she'd gotten over annoying him and was trying to make up for everything she'd done. He had to admit, this was somewhat of an improvement compared to how she'd been two days ago.

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Meanwhile, in her closet, Rukia was plotting her next attack.

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Please read and review! I have to admit, this is a lot funner to write than Saving Shiro. I guess it's more my type of story (in other words, randomness and stupidity XD). – Kuchiki-chan


	5. He Loves Me? Not?

A/N: Hi. Not much to say today.

DISCLAIMER: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo, just like this fic belongs to me. And only me! Bwahahahahaha.

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The alarm went off. Ichigo groaned and rolled over to turn it off. As he went back to his original position, something, or rather someone, caught his eye.

There was another person in his bed.

The person had black hair and was wearing his little sister's pajamas.

The person had a stupid smile on her face and had just kicked him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!?" he yelled, sitting up and scooting as far away from her as possible.

"G'morning." She yawned and rolled onto her back to look up at him.

"What are…you…doing…in my bed?!"

"Sleeping, duh." She paused. "I had a nice dream."

"Good for you, now GET OFF!"

"You're so mean, Ichi. All I want is a nice, warm bed."

"Isn't your bed nice and warm enough?!"

She scoffed. "You call that thing a bed? I live in your CLOSET."

"What am I? Your personal heat provider?"

"Mm. Sounds about right." She grabbed his leg. "M'cold."

"AUGGHHH!! LET GO!!!" He freed himself and got off the bed as fast as he could. "Just…just…never mind." He pulled a coat over his pajamas and ran out the door, tripping repeatedly.

Ichigo groaned as he made his way downstairs into the kitchen. Why did she have to pull one of her pranks so early in the morning?

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Reading Ichigo's diary had been Rukia's favorite hobby recently. He wrote in it almost every night, then slid it back under his mattress when he thought she wasn't looking. It was always interesting to read things from his point of view.

She smirked as she read last night's entry. Her scheme had worked once again.

_Today when I got back from Keigo's, Rukia seemed different somehow. She was actually being…I don't know, nice. And…I'm going to hate myself for writing this later, but…she was really cute._

Rukia burst out laughing. 'Really cute'…. She leaned forward to read more.

_For a split second, I actually thought…maybe even hoped…that she liked me. I know, it's stupid, since we've hated each other's guts since Day One. But she was being so nice, it was weird. Definitely not normal._

She noticed a few hearts doodled randomly around the page. How feminine. Wait, there was something written in them…tiny 'R's.

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Ichigo snickered quietly as he heard Rukia's laughter from the closet. He'd known since the beginning that she was reading his entries, so of course he'd faked this last one. He could already imagine the thoughts running through her head.

_"Oh Ichi!" _

_"I think he likes me!" _

_"Giggle giggle giggle" _

Ichigo smirked. The dumb ninny had fallen for it! This brightened his mood considerably, at least since this morning, when – when –

"When I was in your bed," said Rukia.

"AUGH!! IT HURTS! DON'T SAY IT!!!" Ichigo yelled.

Rukia looked annoyed. "What I was saying was, when I was in your bed, what was the first thing you thought?"

Ichigo turned red. "Funny you should mention that. Now go away."

"What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about how your stupid tactics never cease to amaze me. Now _go away_."

Rukia raised her eyebrows. "Really. Are you suuuuuure?"

"Yes, now go away!"

She wiggled her eyes at him one more time before disappearing back into the closet. He groaned and sat down at his desk to start, or attempt to start, his homework. His grades didn't need to slip any more than they already had.

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Rukia stared at the words.

_I actually thought…maybe even hoped…that she liked me. _

Her eyes traveled up the page.

_She was really cute._

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Heheh another weird chapter! They're misleading each other with their diaries by faking entries…or ARE THEY?!? XD I'm sure most of you have caught on to the truth though…_hmm_…

I don't know. My favorite pairing is IchixRuki of course, but this story seems more appropriate if they just keep doing this kind of stuff to each other. So should I add a speck of…luuuuurve?!?

Yayayay keep reading please! And review lots!! – Kuchiki-chan


	6. You Can Do Anything

A/N: Ohayo and welcome to the sixth chapter!! I am currently in the school library, supposedly working on my science project. XD Yeah, oh well. Thanks to Davi LaCro for her assistance!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach blablablablablablablablabla.

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Ichigo looked out the window one last time. Rukia hadn't returned yet, and it was already time for dinner. They hadn't come back together from school because she'd claimed she had something "important to do.

_Oh well. More food for me._ He had been sacrificing small amounts of his meal every time to smuggle upstairs to Rukia.

His dad and sisters were out somewhere doing who knows what (hello, this is his DAD we're talking about), so he was home alone. Luckily, they still had plenty of instant ramen at home since Ichigo didn't exactly feel like cooking.

He was just about to get started on his homework when the phone rang. He got up quickly in case it was Rukia (first instinct) or his dad and sisters (second instinct).

Damn idiot…where'd his dad put the phone? Ichigo looked around wildly, willing it to keep ringing until he managed to find it.

As he approached the source of the ringing, he heard the small beep that signified that someone was leaving a message. He ran down the stairs to the answering machine.

"Ichigo?"

Ichigo froze at Rukia's voice.

"Ichigo…are you home? This is Rukia. I just needed to tell you…that…I won't be coming back." There was a pause.

Were his ears deceiving him? _Please, let this just be another one of her sick jokes._

"Because…something came up in the Soul Society. And I won't be back…ever again…"

…

WHAT?!?

"But…Ichigo, I just wanted you to know. For all the time I've known you, you've been…a special person in my life. And…I just wanted to say…"

Ichigo could hear the uncertainty in her voice. Was she about to say what he thought…?

"Does your hair defy gravity?"

What. Did. She. Say?

Rukia laughed nervously. "I'm kidding. What I really needed to tell you was…well…Ichigo, I think…I think I'm in love. I think…I…I…"

_Yes???_

"I think I'm in love with Renji."

WHAAAAAATTTTT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

"Kidding. I bet you were just thinking, 'WHAAAAAATTTTT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?'. Am I right?" He could tell she was really nervous, but he had to admit, that joke hadn't been very funny.

He heard her take a deep breath. "Okay, Ichigo. I'll be serious now, but…what I'm about to say is really hard. Ichigo, I just thought you should know that…I love you."

There. She'd said it.

Ichigo felt strangely relieved. But what she'd said earlier was still gnawing a hole in him..._" I won't be back…ever again…"_

It sounded like she was trying hard not to cry, fighting back her tears. Then a sob escaped her and there was the sound of a phone hanging up. The answering machine gave another small beep. _End of messages._

Ichigo slumped against the wall, unsure of what to do. The reality of it all was still hard to take in…

_She's not coming back._

He could go and try to bring her back. But it seemed like she was pretty firm on going back to the Soul Society. Like there was nothing he could do about it….

"_Don't you know that you can do anything?_" Isshin Kurosaki's voice broke out over the house as the front door slammed open. "We're hooooooome!!"

Ichigo quickly jumped to his feet. "D-Dad? Where were you guys?"

"We went to the Karakura Fourth Annual Eating Contest!"

"The…what?"

"Don't you know?" Yuzu said excitedly. "Every year there's this huge eating competition…winner gets a free dinner for two at Teriyaki House!! You shoulda come!"

"Okay, I get it. Wait…Dad, what were you saying?"

Isshin looked confused. "'We're home'?"

"No, before that."

"Oh! The song!" He laughed loudly. "Of course! 'You Can Do Anything' by Carole King! They were playing it at the contest…"

"Don't sing it, Dad. You sound like a dying duck."

"K-Karin-chan! How could you?! Your own father…"

"What? It's true."

"Hey, I'll be in my room." Ichigo ran back up the stairs with his dad yelling after him. "Did you have any dinner?"

"Uh…yeah," he yelled back over his shoulder before shutting his bedroom door. He turned on the new laptop he'd got over break and searched up the song. As he turned on his speakers, the song came blasting out. He fell back on his bed, listening to the lyrics.

_  
Don't you know that you can do anything  
You can take anything and make it your own  
Don't you know that you can do anything  
And you don't have to do it alone_

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I've never actually heard of that song before. I just thought it'd be weird if he was doubting himself and his dad suddenly comes in telling him that he can do anything. But why would he say that? So I went on Google and typed in the phrase 'you can do anything lyrics' and well, this is what I came up with. The rest of the lyrics don't really match the story, but….

Oh, and the part where Rukia says, "Does your hair defy gravity?" is from Final Dance Fantasy, which is a skit by JAC Productions. It is HILARIOUS!! If you haven't already seen it you have to go see it NOW! (You should also see The Bleah Skit. Also by JAC Productions.)

Ichigo is a little OOC for suddenly wanting to listen to this song. But I guess if he's feeling really depressed or something…I don't know. The song sends a message of hope! XD Lol that was cheesy…

This is the longest chapter so far. I already have a weird plot twist in mind. So please please please read and review and tell me what you think!! – Kuchiki-chan


	7. You Fell For It, Dummy!

A/N: Hi! Kuchiki-chan here. I'm going for three chapters in one day! Yeah!

DISCLAIMER: Tite Kubo owns Bleach. Yadda yadda yadda.

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Rukia hung up the phone, then burst out laughing. Her acting skills had really improved. Did Ichigo really think she was staying in Seireitei forever? Was he going to go all depressed now?

She stuck her hands in her dress pockets. Huh? What was this? She pulled out two pieces of paper. Each said: _ADMIT ONE – Free Dinner at Teriyaki House_.

That's right…a dumpy little man had given them to her after she'd stuffed herself.

She'd told Ichigo she had somewhere important to go, when in reality all she needed was some quality think time to cook up another plan. On the way home, she'd come across a huge crowd. As she tried to see what all the commotion was (it's not easy being 4'8"), she saw two long tables, covered with row after row of…FOOD!! Rukia's mouth had watered at the sight.

It seemed people who wanted to eat were randomly signing up. So she stood in line and waited until it was her turn, then wrote her name down on the list. A lady directed her to a seat. Rukia marveled when she saw the huge plate of sushi in front of her.

For some reason no one else seemed to be eating though. Instead they were all looking up at the dumpy man, like they were waiting for him to say something….

He pulled out a microphone and said something about a contest, but she didn't really care. The delicious aroma of the food around her was filling her nostrils.

Suddenly a sharp whistle met her ears and she saw everyone around her lean forward and start eating like crazy. She didn't see what the rush was, but ate her sushi one by one.

After only a few minutes, several people were getting up. Full already? What had they eaten, boulders?

She resumed her munching until she noticed that there were only nine people left, including her. One person even got up and barfed.

Rukia grimaced. Geez…it was just food. Suddenly the lady standing behind her yelled out, "Forty-eight!"

"What's that?"

"The number of sushi that you ate."

"Oh." She popped another one in her mouth. Rukia didn't think she could ever get tired of sushi.

Eventually she was the last one eating. The lady grabbed her arm and pulled her up, waving her arm in the air. "We have a winner!!"

"Congratulations, young lady! Here is your prize." The little man jumped off his podium and shoved the tickets into her hands. The crowd behind her started cheering madly.

"Um…thanks…"

Before she left, the lady whispered to her, "You should go with your boyfriend", then walked off.

Rukia was left speechless and utterly confused as the crowd swarmed around her. Oh well. She shrugged and started walking towards Orihime's house. She still had an important phone call to make.

Rukia snapped back to reality. So…exactly what had the creepy lady meant by that? 'Go with her boyfriend'?

Ichigo was a boy. Ichigo was also somewhat of a friend. So did that make him her boyfriend?

She stood up and ran back to the main room, where Orihime and Tatsuki were watching a cheesy old kung-fu movie. "Thanks for letting me use your phone, Orihime."

"No problem! Are you leaving now?" Orhime got up and followed her towards the door. "Aw!! You should stay and watch some more with us! It's actually really funny…"

Rukia smiled. "Thanks, but I have to get back now. Ichi – I mean, my family will be wondering where I am. Bye!" She waved happily and walked down the driveway.

As she walked, she wondered what Ichigo had thought when he'd received her message. Was he happy? Sad? Annoyed? Angry?

Suddenly she caught sight of him. He was in his shinigami form, looking rather determined and had a strange expression on his face. He saw her too.

"RUKIA?!?"

"Ichi!!" she yelled happily. She jumped onto him, nearly knocking him over.

"What…are you doing here? Why aren't you in the Soul Society?"

Rukia smirked. So he'd fallen for it. "It was another joke, stupid. And you fell for it!"

Ichigo felt dizzy. "I…did?"

"Yeah! I bet you were all, 'oh, she loves me'! Hahahahaha!" Rukia laughed so hard tears came to her eyes.

"Rukia…"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up. I'm just glad you're safe."

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Aww!! Is that cute or what? Okay, maybe it's not. What I was _going_ to do was make Ichigo go all the way to Seireitei while Rukia took over his room and vandalized it by spray painting Chappy the Rabbit all over his walls. Ah well. Please R&R…yeah…you know the drill… – Kuchiki-chan


	8. Bring Your Boyfriend

A/N: Help!! I should be continuing Saving Shiro, but I'm not sure what to write because I need to know how long it takes for Urahara to open a portal. If anyone knows, please tell me!!! I will be forever grateful…

This chapter is dreadfully OOC. But I felt like writing it anyway.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach.

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As they walked back toward the house, both of them felt rather awkward.

Ichigo couldn't believe he'd fallen for another one of her tricks. _For a moment I thought she really meant it. Obviously not. _

Rukia was lost in thought as well. _How should I ask him without sounding like I'm asking him out?_

"Hey…um…Ichigo," she said nervously.

"Huh?"

"Well, you see…I have these two tickets to…um…a restaurant, and…I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

Ichigo felt himself turn red. "This isn't another joke, is it?"

"No, I swear!" she said quickly.

"Really."

"I'm serious." She looped her arm through his, and he was momentarily startled. _What am I surprised for? She's jumped on me before, so this isn't exactly anything special._

"I believe you."

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"COME ON!!! You're so slow!!" Rukia pinned him to the floor. "I wanna eat already!"

"Hey, get off! You're just making me go even slower," he said, shoving her off.

He smirked when he saw the excited expression on her face. "It's…just a restaurant, you know."

"Yeah, but…Ichigo, this isn't a date, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I kind of figured." He pulled a button-up shirt on over his long-sleeved shirt.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…we're just going for the food. And…um…" Ichigo felt really lame.

Rukia grinned. "Yeah. C'mon, let's go!"

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A minute later they found themselves walking to Teriyaki House.

"Teriyaki House?! Where did you get those tickets?"

"I dunno. I was just walking home when I saw a big feast, so I decided to join, and after I stuffed myself, some person came over and gave them to me!"

Ichigo laughed. "Rukia, that was the Karakura Eating Contest!"

Rukia looked confused. "The…what?"

"They have it every year. And you won."

"Oh."

Finally they arrived at the restaurant. As they entered, Rukia was looking around, excited. This was a new experience for her. "Ooh Ichi! Let's sit there!" She pointed to a table in the corner farthest away from them.

Ichigo grunted. "Stop calling me that."

"Aw…but…" She stopped abruptly. "Hey, is that…Keigo and Mizuiro?"

Ichigo froze up. "What?!"

"Look, over there." Indeed, the two idiots were stuffing their faces in between crude jokes and loud laughter.

"Let's go. Quick." He ushered her to their seats and sat down before Keigo and Mizuiro had the chance to see them. A waitress sauntered over. "Do you have your orders?"

"Teriyaki chicken, please," Rukia said immediately. Ichigo raised his eyebrows. "You didn't even look at the menu yet."

"Yeah, but…Orihime mentioned it before, so I thought I'd give it a try." She shrugged.

"Sir?" The waitress stood there, waiting somewhat impatiently.

"Oh…I'll have the…uh…"

"We can share mine, thanks," Rukia interrupted. Ichigo stared at her. What did she just say?

"Thank you." The waitress snapped her order notebook shut and walked off toward the kitchen rather huffily.

Ichigo leaned toward Rukia. "Um, sorry, but…what?"

"I said we could share my chicken teriyaki."

"Why?!"

"Ichigo, I wasn't lying when I said you were special to me, you know," she said, smiling.

"Hey! What's this?" An unpleasantly familiar voice drifted over.

"Whoa! Are you two on a date?" Keigo said. "How come I didn't know about this?"

"Shut it."

"Heheh, we'll just leave you two lovebirds alone." He smirked and grabbed Mizuiro and they walked out of the restaurant.

Ichigo stuck his hands in his pockets. "Damn it. Who knows what they're telling everyone else now…"

"Here's your chicken teriyaki, hope you enjoy it." The waitress dropped the plate on their table before stalking away.

"Geez, what's her problem?" Rukia said, sounding annoyed. She started eating when she noticed Ichigo staring at her. "Come on, help yourself."

"Oh…okay."

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Yeah, I know this chapter seemed kinda different from the others, so I'm not completely happy with it. But don't worry. I'll probably write the rest of the chapters like the first few again. More IchixRuki annoyance!! – Kuchiki-chan


	9. Don't Be Shy, Ichigo

A/N: This chapter starts off with another…um…strange scene. It's so clichéd though! Thanks again to Davi LaCro.

Hopefully I can get everyone's personality back to the way they were before. Tell me how I did!!

DISCLAIMER: Tite Kubo owns Bleach.

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Ichigo felt something heavy on his chest, like someone had put a weight on it. He groaned. Was this another one of his dad's stupid antics?

…Nah. His dad would pounce on him, but not slowly try to get on his nerves. His dad was much too straightforward to be subtle.

"Good morning Ichi!" Rukia was sitting on top of him with her legs crossed, already wearing her school uniform.

"Not again…"

"Come on! We're going to be late for school again." She eyed him.

"Oookay, but first, get off me." He tried shoving her off, but she stubbornly held on. "Look, Rukia – "

Rukia let out a small gasp as she lost her balance. She toppled forward.

Which resulted in a rather inappropriate-looking scene.

Suddenly the door slammed open. "GOOOOOD MOOOOOORNING ICH – Oh. My." Isshin backed out slowly, closing the door. "Sorry."

Ichigo cursed quietly. It was bad enough having to deal with the rumors Keigo and Mizuiro were sure to spread, but this was probably worse.

"I have cooties," Rukia announced before calmly getting off of Ichigo and smoothing her skirt. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving for school." And with that, she hopped out the window, hoping Ichigo hadn't seen her blushing.

"Yeah…catch you later." Ichigo got up, trying to hide the undeniable blush on his own face. Pulling on a black long-sleeved shirt, he looked out the window. Mizuiro wasn't there yet…either that or he was busy at school with Keigo telling everyone stupid lies.

Running down the stairs, he bumped into Karin. "What were you doing? Whenever I mention you, Goat-Face has been giving me this idiotic grin."

Ichigo could feel the red returning to his cheeks. "Nothin'."

Karin raised an eyebrow suspiciously but dropped the subject, continuing up the stairs. "Whatever."

Ichigo sighed and went into the kitchen. Yuzu sat at the table, eating breakfast. "Come on. You'll be late."

To his displeasure, his dad was there as well, occasionally winking at him. Ichigo rolled his eyes and kept his head down as he ate. Eating as fast as he could, he could feel Yuzu's eyes on him, obviously wondering what was up with him and their dad.

Ichigo stood up instantly after he finished eating. "Well, I'm going to school now. See ya."

Right before he got out the door, Isshin stood up. "Say hi to her for me!!"

"Shut up!"

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"Seriously?! No way!"

"Yeah, I know. They were looking at each other all lovingly too, it was weir – "

"HEY!!" A schoolbag flew through the air and hit Keigo squarely on the back of his head. "Quit telling lies, will you?"

"Oh, Ichigo! I'm so happy for you and Rukia!" Orihime ran up to him.

Ichigo swore loudly. "KEIGO! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

"Ichigo, there's nothing to be ashamed of." Rukia sauntered over, her previous sweetness replaced by her old nasty self.

Keigo yelled. "So it's true! Rukia just clarified everything!"

Ichigo's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Rukia, what are you saying?!"

"Don't be shy." She hugged his waist, grinning up at him. She was acting so cute, he wanted to puke. "Gah!! Get off me! What are you doing?!"

"You heard Keigo! We're a couple now."

"Baka! We are NOT going out!"

"He's getting all defensive now, so it must be true," Tatsuki muttered to Orihime.

"Shut up, Tatsuki!"

"Ichi…"

Oh, great. She had started calling him that again. Actually, he rather liked the idea of her having a nickname for him, but…no, what was he thinking?

"'Ichi'? What's this new term of endearment?" teased Mizuiro.

As Rukia looked up at him, still wearing that annoyingly cute smile, he swore he could hear his heart beating. Then she said the unthinkable.

"Ichi…I want a kiss."

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Rukia's having so much fun. Ichigo's bound to snap sooner or later. Hee.

I apologize for not updating for a really long time. And for all of you who read Saving Shiro – I'm going to update it really soon, but I'm also rapidly running out of ideas. So please send in any suggestions! I don't want Saving Shiro to die.

Please review!!!!! Arigatou!! – Kuchiki-chan


	10. Class Play

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach.

A/N: Arigatou to everyone who reviewed! Woo! More than 50 now!! Okay, I'll stop talking now and let you get to the stor –

Ichigo: HOW COULD YOU?!? YOU HUMILIATED ME IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!!!

Rukia: Don't be shy, Ichi.

Ichigo: ARGH!!! THE PERFECT IMAGE I'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR YEARS IS RUINED!!!

Me: Ichigo, stop whining. I could easily make you kiss her, you know.

Ichigo: …

Rukia: Ooh, he's thinking about it. winks

Ichigo: Yeah right!

Rukia: I bet you're wondering what it's like to kiss me.

Ichigo: As if…

Rukia: He hesitated! He hesitated!

Me: Well aaaanyway, back to the story!

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"Ichi, I want a kiss."

"Why Rukia, I would be more than happy to give you a kiss." And he leaned down and kissed her passionately, after which they decided to go out.

Then everyone was happy and they all lived happily ever after, except for Keigo, of course.

THE END

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Just kidding. Sorry, I was bored. XD Okay, now I'll get back to the story.

"Ichi, I want a kiss…"

She looked up at him with her big eyes. Ichigo felt his arms weakening. What was he supposed to do now?

Everyone had gone silent, waiting to see his reaction.

"Uh…" he stammered. "I – "

Forget saying the unthinkable, because just then Rukia did the unthinkable. She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips.

At that moment Ichigo's entire face turned about twenty-nine shades of red. He'd always known Rukia loved making his life miserable, but she would never go as far as to…

Okay, so she just had.

He wasn't exactly sure what to do. Obviously he couldn't keep kissing her in front of everybody, because that would mean he liked her. But he couldn't just break away either…not when she was looking so…well…cute.

Not too many options.

He actually didn't mind that much…not really. It felt nice to be hugged by Rukia. Her small body was so soft and warm, and –

"Oh my." Mizuiro's voice broke through his thoughts.

Ichigo gasped and pulled away, panting. "R-Rukia…"

For a moment it was quiet, except for Ichigo and Rukia's fast breathing. Then Mizuiro said, "Wow. I didn't know you guys…uh…liked each other so much."

Luckily for Ichigo, he was spared having to answer when the teacher walked in. "Everyone to their seats. Come on! We don't have a lot of time."

The crowd gradually broke up and everyone settled into their seats. Rukia, despite being the one who had started everything, was resolutely looking anywhere but at Ichigo. Ichigo, on the other hand, couldn't help staring at her.

Even Rukia couldn't act _that_ good…had she really kissed him just to humiliate him? Or had there been another reason…?

(Me: Getting your hopes up, eh, Ichigo?)

(Ichigo: Shut up.)

"Okay, everybody listen up. Our class has been chosen to prepare a play to raise money for our school. So you'd better all do your best." She glared at them over her glasses. "Or else I'm flunking you all."

There was a unanimous groan from the class.

"Hey! Don't complain!"

"Sensei, how come it's _our_ class?" Tatsuki yelled.

Miss Ochi made a face. "Because as freshmen, you guys are at the bottom of this school. In other words, you have to do all the dirty work that everyone else doesn't want to do."

"Ohhh. That makes sense," Tatsuki said sarcastically.

"Okay, that's enough! I'm going to go into the details now. The play is…er…let's see…apparently, it's a romantic tragedy." She adjusted her glasses. "How interesting."

"Who wrote the script? I'd like to go kill him."

"You know, Tatsuki, it could be a her."

"Okay, okay. My point is – "

"Aaand…we doing exactly have time for tryouts or anything, so we're going to have to vote for parts, okay? The play is in two weeks."

"What?!? Couldn't they at least give us some more time?" Keigo whined.

Miss Ochi glared. "Watch it, Asano."

Keigo shut up.

She read on. "And the play is…"

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I know, I know. It's so clichéd. It seems like a bunch of mangas have class plays in them, but I needed an excuse for Ichigo and Rukia to be forced to kiss (or almost kiss), so…

Please read and review! AND SEND SUGGESTIONS!!!!!! – Kuchiki-chan


	11. Sode no Shirayuki

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach, though I wish I did. Waah!

A/N: Ohayo and thanks for all the reviews!! I'm really grateful for all the suggestions. Unfortunately I couldn't do Romeo and Juliet because too many people think it's clichéd. Sorry :(

Jekyll and Hyde sounded interesting, but I couldn't do that either because…I've never read it! I apologize if any of you are disappointed.

So, instead I've decided to make something up for the class play. Hope you like it.

Me and Toshiro-kun (ooh, bad grammar) are currently at school, in the library, although we were originally watching Mary Poppins in history…oh, and he just wrote that I ate the keyboard. Which I did not, or I wouldn't be typing this right now. Okay, now he's writing about how creepy I am. Look who's talking, Oh, he though I just wrote stalking, not talking. His eyes must be getting bad. XD

Me: You need to see the eye doctor.

Toshiro-kun: Hee hee, I'm an idiot.

Me: Oh crap, now he's mad.

Toshiro-kun: RAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRR!!!! SHNORK SHNORK SHNORK SHNORK SHNORK!! RAAWRRRRR!!!

Me: Really mad.

Toshiro-kun: Okay, I'm done.

Me: Good. Well aaaanyhow, back to the story.

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"The play is called…'Sode no Shirayuki.'" (To those of you who don't know, that means Sleeve of White Snow. It also happens to be the name of Rukia's zanpakutou.)

Rukia opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it.

"Yes, well…we don't have a lot of time left, so take these and pass them back." Miss Ochi began passing out blue half-sheets of paper. "Each one has a brief summary of the play and quick character bios. On the back, you can write your votes, as well as the part you'd like to play. But no talking or discussing."

Tatsuki raised her hand. "Can I do stage crew or something?"

Miss Ochi looked annoyed. "Fine. But only five people."

Instantly half the class leaned down to write their choices (probably stage crew). Ichigo looked at the small blue paper. None of the characters sounded very appealing to him, and the summary was stupid. He felt like ripping it up.

He glanced at Rukia, who was staring intently at her paper. He watched her flip the paper over and scribble something on the back.

_Wonder what she wrote,_ he thought as he wrote himself down for stage crew.

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"Guess who I put down for one of the main characters."

"Oh, god." Ichigo kept walking. "You'd better not have put yourself down. If you got the part…"

Rukia whacked him with her bag. "No, stupid! I was talking about you!"

Ichigo stopped. "You didn't."

"I did."

"Rukia!!"

"Sucker!" She punched him on the arm and ran ahead, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Damn…" But it's not like he really needed to worry, right? If she was the only one who had voted for him as the lead, then he wouldn't get the part.

He watched as she skipped towards his house. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take her torture. Eventually he was going to explode and get back at her. Or maybe he already had…since he'd put her down for the female lead.

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"Good morning, Ichigo," Keigo tried to say with a straight face.

They'd been giving him and Rukia funny looks the entire morning, and it was bugging him. Obviously they had been planning something rather sinister.

"Alright! Everyone sit down!" Miss Ochi barked. "The parts have been decided."

There was an excited whisper among the class, although most of the students look bored.

"I wonder who got the leads," Mizuiro commented loudly.

"Yeah, me too," Keigo yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Asano! Kojima! Quiet!"

She walked over to the board and posted a single piece of paper. "You can look…but no fighting! Form a line!"

Ichigo scowled and stood up, along with the rest of the class as several students eagerly darted to the front. By the time Ichigo reached the list, twenty minutes had already passed. His jaw dropped as he saw the first two lines.

Takashi Sakamoto (lead) - Ichigo Kurosaki

Hitomi Kimura (lead) - Rukia Kuchiki

Obviously, quite a few people had voted for them, and he had a pretty good idea who they might be.

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_HITOMI runs to TAKASHI. They look into each others' eyes._

_HITOMI: I have to go._

_TAKASHI: Please…don't go. I love you, Hitomi._

_HITOMI: I won't ever forget you, Takashi. But before I go…this…is for you._

_HITOMI leans up to kiss him._

_HITOMI: Goodbye, Takashi…and thanks for everything._

_HITOMI is lifted up into the air. TAKASHI runs to her._

_TAKASHI: HITOMI!_

Rukia stared at the script. She didn't really want to be the lead, but she still felt a little flattered that so many people had nominated her.

She then remembered that Ichigo had gotten the other lead part. She felt shivers run up her body. Smiling, she packed her bag as she wondered how he would react.

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Well there you have it. The big kissing scene. :D

Please please review! And tell me what you think! – Kuchiki-chan


	12. Too Much Practice

DISCLAIMER: Tite Kubo owns Bleach.

A/N: Gah! I only got ONE REVIEW for the last chapter! Why???

…Okay, sorry about that. Anyway, you should go to Youtube and search 'Bleach musical dance studio'. If you find something about Gin's Dance Studio, that's it. It's HILARIOUS!!!

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"Oh wow, Ichigo. Looks like you got the main role."

"Shut up."

"I heard there's a kissing scene…"

"I said shut up!"

"…So you'd better practice!"

"RUKIA!"

Rukia smirked and walked towards Ichigo's closet. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

"Yeah, whatever." Ichigo grumbled and looked back down at his homework. "Huh? She left her cell phone thing."

The small detector sat on a corner of his desk. Suddenly a yell came from the closet. "YOU PERVERT!!"

The closet door slid open again and out flew a small, orange stuffed lion. "AND STAY OUT!!!"

Ichigo looked at Kon in dismay. He was wearing Rukia's glove on his head. She'd probably stuffed it over his face as a last-minute attempt to keep him from peeping.

"Mm…mmf!" Kon stumbled in a circle, then collapsed. "B-but…onee-san!"

"She doesn't want you in the closet, don't you get it?" Ichigo picked him up and threw him in his desk drawer before locking it.

Suddenly the detector started beeping quietly. Ichigo immediately stood up and was about to tell Rukia, but when he slid the door open, he saw that she was already sleeping peacefully. He couldn't wake her up now. Damn, she fell asleep fast.

So instead he closed the closet door and opened his desk drawer, pulling the glove off Kon's head before he could make a sound. Whacking him firmly, the small pill popped out of the plushie's mouth and into his hand. He took one last look at it with disgust before swallowing it. He burst out of his body and instantly grabbed himself…er, Kon.

"Ichigo! Where are you going?"

"Shut up! Rukia's sleeping! There's a Hollow, but I'm giving her a break this time. So don't try anything funny while I'm gone, okay? Just…just read, or something. Or sleep. And leave Rukia alone." He let go of him and jumped out the window.

The room was now silent. Kon stared at the closet where his beloved onee-san was sleeping. Ichigo had told him to leave her alone…but…it was the perfect opportunity…

He cautiously walked over and slid the door open. "Rukia? I – "

"Don't leave me!" Rukia screamed, throwing her arms around him. "I…I don't want to be alone…"

Kon was shocked. Was Rukia having a dream…?

"Um, it's alright. Everything's okay, Rukia. You're just having a bad dream," he said, somewhat awkwardly, patting her on the back.

Rukia continued sobbing into his shirt. "Before I go…"

"You're leaving?"

"…This is for you."

She leaned up and kissed him. Kon's eyes widened in surprise as he stumbled backward slightly. "Rukia, what are you – "

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Rukia's eyes snapped open. Kon broke away, looking guilty. "I-Ichigo, you're back! I, um, didn't think you'd be so qui – "

Ichigo grabbed him by the collar. "What did I just tell you about not touching Rukia?"

"No, I swear! I didn't do anything! She just grabbed me and – "

"Yeah, right! I can't believe you – "

"Ichigo?"

"Huh?" Rukia was staring at him, wide-eyed. A look of realization was written on her face as she started turning red. She started wiping her mouth frantically. "W-why are you out of your body?"

"Duh! There was Hollow!"

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked so happy, damn it, I couldn't do that!"

Rukia fell silent. "Ichigo…"

"What'd you do to her, Kon?"

"I…I've been practicing too much." Rukia sighed and walked back into her closet. "Good night."

"Practicing? Practicing what?" Ichigo said, still furious.

Inside her closet, Rukia stared at her script.

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Well, there you have it. Miss Ochi told them to practice hard, since the play's coming up so soon. Rukia practiced a little too hard, I think, resulting in this most unfortunate event.

Well, tell me what you think! I just had this little idea so I decided to use it. Please read and review! – Kuchiki-chan


	13. Jealousy

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Bleach. Sadly.

WARNING: INCREDIBLY LONG AND BORING AUTHOR'S NOTE AHEAD. BUT IF YOU'RE REALLY BORED, GO AHEAD AND READ IT.

A/N: Hi again. Kuchiki-chan speaking, with Toshiro-kun watching every word I type. Yeah, we're in the library again, missing out on the digital magic of Mary Poppins. Woo. Now Toshiro-kun is laughing his head off like a total idiot. And all because I began playing a Bach prelude on the keyboard and wrote something that looked slightly like the f word. But then when we looked closer, it was actually like this: 'kufk'.

You know, my author's notes are getting longer because of him. He's so stupid there's a lot to write about. Like the ladybug time…heheh…should I…should I not…eh, too late.

So there was this one time when Toshiro-kun, me and out other - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TOSHIRO-KUN JUST WROTE THAT I GOT PRETTY!!!! Oh, Toshiro-kun, you naughty boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He didn't write anything after it for like two minutes…oh, he just added more. But still.

So anyway, Toshiro-kun, me, and our other friend were walking along innocently one day (I swear, we weren't up to anything), and we saw this ladybug. Our friend was like, "Oh look, it's a ladybug!" I said, let's kill it." (I was kidding. Duh. I happen to like ladybugs.) Then the ladybug started flying and Toshiro-kun SCREAMED AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS. (Like this: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!") It was really funny. I cracked up so hard. Later he stepped on some mud which he though had hardened. But it hadn't, so he slipped and screamed again. But later he got all defensive and said that he had "squealed", not "screamed." Not to be all stereotypical or anything, but I pointed out that a guy squealing seemed a little worse than a guy screaming, at least in today's society, although –

THE LIBRARIAN JUST CAUGH US!!!! She was all, "Oh my, what is _this_?" So right now Toshiro-kun and me are laughing our heads off.

So. Anyway. I was just saying that really, most guys don't scream _or_ squeal. They yell. Oh well. Maybe he thinks squealing is cooler or something. I really don't understand guys. They have really weird ideas of what's cool.

Oh, he just wrote that I was pretty again. Ow, now he's whacking me. He's so mean!!!

Seriously, I'd better stop writing this author's note. I'm getting a bit carried away. Oh wow, it's over a page now! Well anyway, here's your story!

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"Okay, everybody! This is our first rehearsal. Make it good!" Miss Ochi yelled and clapped her hands.

The majority of the class groaned. Ichigo and Mizuiro, who were in Scene One, assembled themselves on the stage.

"Do we really have to wear these lame costumes?"

Miss Ochi shot him a death glare. "Watch it, Asano."

"Y-yes, sensei."

"We've got to start preparing early! Pretend this is the real thing. Okay, Kurosaki. Start us off."

"Umm…okay." Ichigo looked down at his script uncertainly. This was quite stupid, really. "Hmm, I think we're lost."

Miss Ochi sighed and took off her glasses. "We only have two weeks, people. Do it again, Kurosaki. But do it with _feeling_ this time."

_Feeling, my ass._ "_Hmm_, I think we're _lost_."

"Um…I guess that's…better…okay, keep going, Kojima."

Mizuiro grinned. "Nonsense! The Sakamoto brothers are never lost!"

Miss Ochi glowered at him. "Stick with the script, Kojima. Start us over, Kurosaki."

"_Hmm_, I think we're _lost_," Ichigo said sarcastically.

"Vere iz da man?" said Mizuiro. (A/N: I give full credit to Toshiro-kun for this line. XD)

"KOJIMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Okay, okay." He stopped smiling. "Yeah, I never noticed the sky get dark so soon!"

"…"

"Ichigo, you're supposed to say, 'Hmm, I think we're lost'."

"But I just said that."

"What?! You did?"

"Weren't you listening?"

The rehearsal dragged on in this manner until finally, they painstakingly managed to reach Scene Three, where Rukia came in.

Rukia had some difficulty climbing onto the stage, so Ichigo sighed and helped her up. She ran to the center and bowed her head. "The night is long…"

Ichigo watched her from his position on the side. She'd already memorized most of her lines, unlike the rest of the class.

The stage lights made her face look paler than usual, as if she were standing under the moon.

"Looks like _someone_ learned her part," whispered Keigo, and Ichigo jumped. He had been watching her so intently that he'd forgotten he was there.

Keigo had the worst costume ever. He was a fairy.

Ichigo bit his tongue to keep from cracking up. "Nice…outfit."

Keigo sulked. "Why do I get always get stuck with the ugly costumes? You're so lucky."

"Lucky? Could have fooled me," Ichigo hissed. "I'm stuck being the stupid main character!"

"Yeah, well at least you get to kiss Rukia!"

"Wha…" The blood drained from Ichigo's face. "I do?"

"Yeah! Didn't you read the script?"

"No…I…oh geez, Rukia said something about a kissing scene. But I didn't believe her. I thought she was just trying to freak me out."

Keigo shook his head. "Be grateful…"

"W-why would I be grateful?!"

"Hey, at least you're not a fairy."

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"That was so much fun!" Rukia said happily. "I can't wait for our next rehearsal."

"I can," grumbled Ichigo. _At least we didn't reach…THAT part today._

Suddenly Rukia stopped talking. She looked curiously at him. "Ichigo…you do know that there's a kissing scene, right?"

Ichigo kept walking. "Yeah, of course."

"And you're not worried?"

"Why would I be worried?"

"Because you have to kiss someone. A girl."

"I…I've kissed a girl before!"

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and I'm secretly in love with Renji."

He knew she was kidding, but…why, of all things, did she choose to say that?

"I didn't know you were so close," he heard himself saying.

"I was kidding, Ichigo."

"How am I supposed to know that?" he said bitterly.

Rukia's mouth hardened into a small, thin line. "Ichigo."

"Yeah…maybe I shoulda guessed. The way you're always talking about him, it's always, 'oh, Renji!' this, or 'oh, Renji!' that! 'Renji is sooo cool!' 'Renji is so brave!'"

"What are you talking about…I never said any of those things!"

Ichigo didn't look at her. "You might as well have, considering the way you're 'secretly in love' with him."

Rukia raised her arm as if she was about to slap him, but quickly lowered her hand. "You…are so stupid."

Then she ran off.

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Jealousy. It was small, but it was there, and Rukia's noticed! Well, tell me what you thought. You guys are the best! – Kuchiki-chan


	14. Emptiness

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach. Yadda yadda yadda.

A/N: Heeeeellooooooo my lovely readers!! How are you all today? Okay, I'll stop the cheesy pep talk. Anyway, here it is, the incredible fourteenth installment of my personal favorite, ARE YOU ANNOYED NOW?

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Ichigo stared at the spot where she had just been. He was starting to feel a sinking feeling in his stomach. Somehow, this was different from the other times she'd ran off. Even though she hadn't made any indication that she wasn't coming back, he felt slightly helpless, like he would never see her again.

But strangely, he felt no desire to chase her. Just a gnawing, hollow emptiness.

Ichigo decided to head on back to his house. Surely she'd be there…sitting on his bed when he opened the door, and soon they'd be back to normal, arguing over little things…

"I'm home," he said as he entered the house. No one replied…Isshin, Yuzu and Karin must have gone out again. He started feeling slightly more nervous as he went up the stairs toward his room.

He was about to open the door, but paused. Was she mad at him? Angry? Sad?

Was she even there?

He turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.

He'd never noticed how empty his room was without her. Now it was painfully obvious.

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_That jerk,_ thought Rukia as she sat down on the park bench. She hadn't really been sure where she wanted to go, just as long as it wasn't near Ichigo.

Why did he have to be so suspicious about anything? They weren't even going out, and he was acting like an overprotective boyfriend.

"I can take care of myself," she said to no one in particular.

"Rukia-chan!"

Rukia looked up, surprised? "Orihime? Tatsuki? What are you doing here?"

Orhime grinned. "Well, we were just came here to try out my new kite…" She held up a crudely constructed orange kite. "I made it myself yesterday!"

"Rukia, what are you doing here?" asked Tatsuki, concerned.

"Oh! I was…uh…drawing." She hastily pulled out a Chappy drawing she'd been doodling during class.

"Wowww! I wish I could draw as good as you," Orihime sighed. "Hey, want to come with us? You could go get your kite too, and then we could fly them together!"

Ichigo had gotten her a kite once…it was shaped like a black hell butterfly. But obviously she couldn't go face him now.

"Er…I don't have one," she said weakly.

"That's okay! We can all just take turns on mine!" Orihime suggested.

Suddenly Rukia felt something cold and wet land on her nose. "Oh no…it's raining…"

Orihime looked terribly disappointed. Until two seconds later. "Oh well! Let's go to my house! I want you guys to try the pudding I learned how to make the other day!" She was smiling brightly again.

Tatsuki smiled. "Er…that's okay…but going to your house is a good idea. Come on, Rukia. You don't have anything better to do right now, do you?"

"Well, I don't kn – "

"Great! Come on, let's go!" Orihime chirped, dragging her along.

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"Stay here and don't screw anything up," Ichigo said monotonously before jumping out the window.

"You bet!" yelled Kon. Then he turned around and headed for the door.

"Idiot…does he really think I'm just gonna sit here all day? HELL NO!!" He headed down the stairs and wrenched open the clinic doors. "I'M FREEEEE!!!!!!"

Now…where should he go first? Somewhere…with lots of hot girls…yes…hot girls…

With no particular place in mind, he started running. It felt great…he hadn't been able to run around a lot, being locked up in Ichigo's room…

Suddenly he spotted a flash of long, orange hair. Orihime! And her psycho friend…and…

…HIS NEE-SAN!!!

"Rukia!" he yelled, trying to sound like Ichigo. "Where've you been? I was looking all over for you!"

Rukia looked away. Orihime and Tatsuki looked confused. "Rukia? Did something happen between you and Ichigo?"

_Oh crap_, thought Kon. _Ichigo went and did something stupid to upset her, I bet, and now she thinks I'm him…_

_Oh well, I'll just have to give her some sort of indication then…that I'm not him…without making Orihime and Tatsuki suspicious, of course,_ he thought. _Let's see…what's something Ichigo would never have the guts to do? Come on, think think think…_

He broke into a wide grin that Ichigo wouldn't be caught dead wearing. But Rukia refused to look at him…damn…

"Ichigo? Are you feeling alright?" asked Tatsuki, somewhat suspiciously.

_Dammit! Come on, think! Wait for it…wait…I GOT IT!!!!_

"Rukia, would you go out with me?"

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Ichigo is so going to kill him when he finds out. Still not sure how'll I'll make Rukia react though.

Review pleeeeeaaaaase!! You guys are awesome! – Kuchiki-chan


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